Nikko

Back in November we went up to Nikko for a night.  There are a lot of famous shrines in the area.

Just a lone blonde toddler in a sea of Japanese people.

The famous monkeys.

These were some of the most intricate shrines I've ever been to.

Of course the kids wanted to climb up the sides of the stairs instead of the actual stairs.  It doesn't even bother me until Beatrix needs to copy them and it takes forever.

That night before bed we went to a small local onsen (bath house).  There were a lot of old ladies on the girls side who were persistent in talking to us.  People usually stop quickly once it is clear we don't speak Japanese, but these ladies kept going on.  They really wanted Scarlett to get into the water.  We were outside and it was freezing cold, but Scarlett thought the water was too hot.  She also felt uncomfortable.  She was just standing outside naked while naked old ladies tried to convince her to get in the water.  Their extra attention on her made her feel worse.  Meanwhile Beatrix and Calista a running around climbing on things totally naked no problem.   

The next morning we were going to go see some waterfalls and do a few hikes.  We were not expecting snow.  The forecast I looked at before went said it would be upper 50s.  But I guess I looked in the main town and not the mountain.  

The gondola we were going to ride up the mountain was closed.

We ended up only seeing two of the three waterfalls planned.  We were going to hike from one to the other, but we were just not prepared for the weather.  So we drove.  What was meant to take the day took about one hour.  We called it a day and got home by lunch.

I love Japanese bathrooms.